Princi Bakery Joins Starbucks

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Rocco Princi, center, joins his Seattle team.

US

Starbucks opened its first Princi bakery and café location at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Nov. 7 in Seattle, introducing freshly baked Italian recipes to the first of its reserve roasteries around the world.

The bakeries extend Rocco Princi’s brand beyond Milan and London where Princi has enjoyed success, according to a Starbucks. The line is scheduled be added to the Shanghai roastery in December and Starbucks’ new Milan roastery in late 2018. Additional locations will arrive in New York, Tokyo and Chicago later.

“Rocco Princi is an artisan who, at an early age, discovered a love of bread making and through determination as well as an obsession for finding the perfect ingredients, has created an Italian food experience that I think is unparalleled,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ executive chairman. “His passion for authentic food and respect for Milanese culture come through in everything he does, and I think our customers are going to fall in love with Princi.”

The Seattle location is designed with ovens as the centerpiece, creating a bakery theater that keeps with the overall feel for the Seattle roastery. Starbucks announced in 2016 that it had joined a global investment team – which includes Milan-based Angel Capital Management and Pekepan Investments – to expand Princi bakeries into international markets.

In addition to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations, Starbucks also plans to open Princi stand-alone retail stores starting in 2018.